BoxRec

TWO SAD CASES---BERNARD MAYS and BILLY BELLO

BERNARD MAYS was the most gifted fighter at the Kronk gym at one point in time.

He was tall, fast as lightning, and a dangerous puncher.

Mays was an alchoholic.

He was addicted, of all things, to beer.

Mays was already downhill physically by the time he turned pro.

His pro record was 26 wins (15 by KO), 1 loss, and 1 draw.

Mays' last fight was in 1985.

He died in 1994 at the age of 33.
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BLLY BELLO was a wonderfully gifted New York City fighter.

He had breathtaking boxing ability.

Those who knew of him had high hopes for his future success.

Bello was a heroin addict.

He had one TV fight, against Gaspar Ortega.

Bello showed his ability in the early rounds and then ran out of gas.

He lost a split decision to Ortega, with two officials scoring the fight 5-4-1 for Ortega, and one judge scoring it 5-4-1 for Bello.

Bello died of a heroin overdose less than two weeks after he fought Ortega.

He was 21.

BERNARD MAYS

man have i heard that story before.... :(

would you happen to know mays amateur record? if he had one

Smokin'Moe wrote:man have i heard that story before.... :(

would you happen to know mays amateur record? if he had one

Mays' amateur record was 200 wins, 1 loss, according to one internet source.

BILLY BELLO

Bello died July 20, 1963--only two weeks after he had appeared in his first main event in Madison Square Garden and on national television--losing a split decision to veteran Gaspar Ortega. Bello, 20, [Correction: he was actually 21] was found life-less in a hallway of a tentament in the Bronx section of New York City. On the stairway near the body police found three empty envelopes of the type used to package powdered narcotics, and needle marks on his left forearm, inicating that he had been using drugs. An autopsy confirmed the suspicion that he had died of "acute intravenous narcotism."

http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:72980

DAMN!! skilled warrior

i wish i couldve seen him in action....thanx granberry you always know your pugilistic history

Bello was 5'10 1/2" (welterweight)

Mays was 5'10" (middleweight as a pro)

Bernard Mays

They are some sad stories.

They were men none the less who made the choices that they did.

Waste of talent all the same.

Robinson wrote:They are some sad stories.

They were men none the less who made the choices that they did.

Waste of talent all the same.

Yes, the guy on Eastside who wrote the Mays stuff originally was right.

Is this a re-post ?

I dont go to other boxing forums/

I used to post on MMA.tv in the boxing forum there but that got well tedious.

I should prob go to other forums. but I like you guys :)

Robinson wrote:I used to post on MMA.tv in the boxing forum there but that got well tedious.

I should prob go to other forums. but I like you guys :)

Try Eastside "Classic". There are a few know it alls but you do get some good threads free from the incessant background noise since they banned the great man.

CBZ old timers has a few good threads too but it has a very limited amount of posters.

Cool...shall do.

I do post at Larry Holmes website though....not many posters there however.

Robinson wrote:Cool...shall do.

I do post at Larry Holmes website though....not many posters there however.

What is the great man's thoughts on Holmes?

I think you should ascertain the correct stance to be taken lest you end up being labelled a shill or a fag.

I suppose because larry was a bit outspoken he'll get negative points but he did put a beating on an old sick Ali so that might balance things out in Nutsville Manor.



If it's of any interest, I consider Holmes the best heavy post-Ali.

I like Holmes....he is by far my fave fighter. I dunno why.

Robinson wrote:I like Holmes....he is by far my fave fighter. I dunno why.

He's opening a sports bar in Trowbridge in the UK on Sunday. Might go just to see him.

Awesome...go check it out.

Super Bad. I remember him as an amateur star and then saw him fight a few times in Cleveland as a pro but then kind of lost track of him.

He was a very gifted fighter. It’s a very sad story but certainly one worth posting.

A very good friend of mine , who I used to spar with quite often fought Bernard and went ten rounds with him.
Johnny Heard.
I see Johnny at amateur shows around Chicago, he trains amateurs, and next time I will ask him about fighting Bernard and his recolection of the fight.
Ill post it here once I talk to him.
The Mays story is sad. He was a young guy .

I don't want to see you mentioning Collins' name nor him mentioning yours again.
Continue to do so & I'll piss off both of you, and anyone else for that matter.

I trust I made myself understood

Anton - editor/moderator and not mediator

I remember reading about Mays long ago and was certain he would be a big thing as a pro . I always wondered what happened ...now I know .There was another fighter from the very same period who I expected great things from .... yet it didn't pan out .... heavyweight Mike Gans . Anyone know why ?

i do remember emmanuel steward talking about mays on an hbo telecast in the past couple of years. he said a few things but he quit talking about mays because he said it hurt him to much to think about it. what a shame.